The Daily Lard 4-25-12

Douglas LeeApr 25, 2012 7:45 AM

Good Morning, Broncos fans! Panthers WR Steve Smith says a Saints defender told him during a game that he'd get fined were he not to "go after (Smith's) legs" while forcing him out of bounds. Smith also relates a conversation he had with Gregg Williams during a game last year, saying "He took responsibility, he was saying it wasn't right, but that's who he was."

Meanwhile, the FBI and Louisiana State Police are investigating the wiretapping allegations against Saints GM Mickey Loomis. Cortez Kennedy vouched for Loomis to Peter King, who of course finds the whole thinginteresting. PK notes that New Orleans so vocally and vehemently denied the allegations after offering quiet reactions to news of their own Vicodin and bounty scandals.

Ben Koo can't help but wonder if the story would have amounted to anything at all were it not for ESPN, the network which ignored Charles Robinson's investigation of the Hurricanes and was slow to cover the Penn State scandal and Michael Vick dogfighting allegations, despite the self-dubbed Worldwide Leader moniker.

Jeffri Chadiha says it's been a rough go for Tom Benson, but then again, he's the guy who hired all of these people.

Broncos

Brian Dawkins stopped in at Dove Valley yesterday, and he says he's concerned about the rule changes meant to protect offensive players. Here's video of him addressing the media and notes on his comments from Lindsay Jones and Gray Caldwell. Plus, video of his old mates speaking about his departure, as summarized by Gray Caldwell.

Bill Williamson says the Broncos have "checked in on" (whatever that means) Beloit College WR Derek Carrier, who visited with Oakland.

Several ex-Broncos have joined a concussion-related lawsuit against the NFL: Olandis Gary, Willie Middlebrooks (good one, Shanny), Courtney Brown, and Nick Greisen. Another suit was filed by a group of ex-Cowboys, including HOFers Bob Lilly, Randy White and Rayfield Wright, and Chuck Howley - the only SB MVP from a losing team.

Thankfully, advances are being made toward detecting changes in the brain before symptoms occur.

Oakland is expected to hire away Joey Clinkscales, the Jets' scouting director, after the draft.

Falcons CB Brent Grimes signed his franchise tender on a day Atlanta jumped into the bidding for Asante Samuel. But the Falcons may have simply wanted leverage to get Grimes to sign after he suggested he'd be holding out for a long-term deal, so it remains to see if their interest will sustain.

Jerome Simpson, who was hit with a three-game suspension yesterday, agreed to join the Vikings on a one-year deal; Washington signed K Neil Rackers; Cards LB Stewart Bradley took a straight 50% pay cut a year after signing a long-term deal.

Mockery

Colts GM Ryan Grigson announced that Indy would indeed be taking Andrew Luck first overall.

The latest in dumbass good ole boy network scout talk is that Iowa State lineman Kelechi Osemele probably isn't that tough, because he was raised by women. Yeah? How'd that work out for Shannon Sharpe? Of course, that's the same network of dumbasses that evaluated Big Play Shay poorly enough that he fell to the seventh round. Unsilent Majority reacts.

Justin Halpern is creeped out by Mel Kiper and the Underwear Olympics, and he imagines what it would be like were Kiper to evaluate women at a bar. Meanwhile, some woman has already propositioned Mr. Irrelevant via YouTube, whoever he turns out to be.

Scrapple

In his latest column on the evolution of NFL football, Andy Benoit says the proclivity of teams to blitz up the middle in recent years has led to a growing importance for interior blockers at the expense of offensive tackles. He also theorizes that linemen will need to be increasingly more athletic, and that receiving ability for running backs is becoming more important, and that backs will be more dominant than tight ends going forward.

Herc, ya' get all types on both sides of the spectrum. I've also seen some boys raised very feminine. Point is, ya' just can't generalize...unless we're talking about politicians. ;-)

However, saying a lineman in college football who's likely to be drafted within the first couple rounds isn't tough, no matter what the situation, is pretty idiotic. But, it sells stories, doesn't it?

Posted by John Tomasik on 2012-04-25 17:19:35

The statement was dumb and really smacks of somebody just trying to grasp at straws to say why he didn't give a college prospect a good evaluation. Whatever happened to common talking points like "he's not NFL ready" or "he's a college system player"?

Posted by Bob on 2012-04-25 17:10:40

If anything, I'd think the oposite would be more likely to be true. Who doesn't know a little old lady who appears nice and soft but turns to steely hardness the moment you get on her bad side? Or a single mom who's tough as nails for no better reason than that she has to be to keep it all together? The female = soft stereotype has got to be one of the stupidest ideas around, even compared to other stereotypes, which often have a small grain of truth at their cores.

Posted by Hercules_Rockefeller on 2012-04-25 15:48:08

I think DJ played well enough last year that he gets the benefit of doubt for the DUI (the difference between his DUI and Moreno's may be the fact that Moreno was injured and williams had one of the best years of his admittedly mediocre career). Woodyard's a great situational guy, but I don't know that he's really an upgrade over Williams. He's got the same downsides in my opinion; he's quick but isn't that strong of a tackler and doesn't get pressure on the QB. They're both more side to side guys than a downfield LB who can stuff the run or intimidate opposing players. Woodyard probably has the advantage over Williams in coverage, but I've seen him be a liability in coverage at times as well. And I think the preference would be to keep woodyard as a rotational guy in D so that he can still play on ST. The opposite is not likely; How many former #1 draft picks volunteer for ST duty after starting for the first 6 years of their careers?

I don't think we'll see much different at LB than we did last year, unless Irving or Mohamed beats out one of the starters (here's hoping that's the case at Mike), becuase there doesn't seem to be any really obvious areas of improvement. Obviously they're set at Sam, and at Mike Will they're good enough that neither is a glaring weakness, and there's not an easy way to make quick, signigficant upgrade. I suppose if something weird happens, like Kuechly dropping to #25, you could see a big change at LB. But it's likely that other positions take priority in my estimation.

Posted by Hercules_Rockefeller on 2012-04-25 15:39:39

LOL, JT. Yeah, I was referring only to football - politics is unique onto itself. If they weren't spending our money, it would be hysterical. ;-)

Posted by Doc Bear on 2012-04-25 14:54:31

Florio now seems to be coming around to the idea that useful information could be gleaned from eavesdropping.

Posted by AldenBrown on 2012-04-25 14:53:09

You're wondering if anyone has said anything less intelligent? Apparently, Doc, you haven't been listening to the Romney and Obama speeches for their campaigns...shame on you....it's great humor.

Posted by John Tomasik on 2012-04-25 14:49:30

I'm not saying that Woodyard doesn't get a shot in this scenario; he does. Let him and Irving compete for the starting spot.

Posted by Royalwithcheese on 2012-04-25 13:54:59

I loved the sheer, breathtaking level of idiocy in the Anonymous Scout's comments that men who are raised by women aren't as tough. Really? Has anyone recently said something even less intelligent?

My paternal grandmother was one of 6 sisters who moved from Kentucky to Chicago at the turn of the 1900s. Her husband was killed in an industrial accident and she raised her two boys alone (although with the help of all 5 sisters, their husbands and the older children as always). She stood 4'10", weighed about 100 lb. and at age 72 was still rolling out her lawn each spring with a steel rolling ball. She never took a dime from the government and she never backed down from anything. She and her sisters weren't exactly shy about handing out corporal punishment, either.

Tough? She could have given lessons in tough to MMA fighters. There are hundreds of thousands of women (or more) like her, too. I've lost track of the top prospects that I've bio-ed who were raised by women. (A)nonymou(S) (S)cout ,must have the IQ of a gerbil.

Posted by Doc Bear on 2012-04-25 13:01:32

Also, unless DJ wins his appeal, he's looking at a 6 game suspension.

Irving ran a 4.74 at the combine, but had a bum ankle last year. Scouting reports said he has more speed to play outside than power to play inside. Although Al Wilson was just fine as a MIKE.

Woodyard looks good in limited action, but I've always had my doubts about his ability to play at a high level over a full season. WW is great for depth.

Posted by A R on 2012-04-25 12:18:51

Everyone set your watches. You can participate in a live chat with passionate draft guru Jeff Legwold at 12:00 p.m. MDT today! Maybe someone will ask him what proof he has for his assertion that teams who take BPA do better than teams that draft for need.

Posted by AldenBrown on 2012-04-25 12:06:04

What about Woodyard then Royal? Proven player, recently signed a new contract, been wearing a C for years...

Makes no sense to force Irving into a Will when you already have an above average one you just re-signed.

Posted by Gentleman_Bronco on 2012-04-25 11:50:36

My take on this is that it's a real possibility. Nate played the Will in college unto his senior year; maybe it would be a more natural fit for him. I know I'll get flammed for suggesting it, but in this scenario, I'd live to see them get Burfict in the sixth, have JDR coach him up for a year and see if he can be the long-term answer at MLB.

Posted by Royalwithcheese on 2012-04-25 11:46:36

I'm pretty sure Woodyard would be will over Irving.

Posted by Gentleman_Bronco on 2012-04-25 11:32:54

True. The lack of credibility came when they hired guys like Skip Bayless and Screamin' A. Smith to be centerpieces of their programming. What a joke.

If you've never read it, "God Save The Fan" by Will Leitch (founder of Deadspin) is an excellent look at just how little credibility that network has. Highly recommended.

Posted by Sam on 2012-04-25 11:32:48

I doubt D.J. is getting dumped, but if so, that would make L. David a dark horse at 25.

Maybe Irving was still gimpy, but I saw nothing that indicates that he is a WIL. He looked mightly sluggish and slow to me.

Posted by drewthorn on 2012-04-25 11:21:58

I am SO relieved to hear that Nate Irving isn't a bust yet! I've totally been losing sleep in fear that the team would just go and cut him. Seriously, if there was a journalism regulatory agency, they need to define the term 'bust' and specify there requirements for its use. I guess the Post knows about busts, since outside of Jones, the whole staff is a bust.

Under the old cap rules, teams cutting players after a certain time (June 1st was it?) spread the cap hit over 2 years. It still works that way, right? If so, I'm thinking DJ is gone. The starting linebackers will be Miller, Mays, and Irving.

Posted by A R on 2012-04-25 10:46:57

"Ben Koo can't help but wonder if the story would have amounted to anything at all were it not for ESPN, the network which ignored Charles Robinson's investigation of the Hurricanes and was slow to cover the Penn State scandal and Michael Vick dogfighting allegations, despite the self-dubbed Worldwide Leader moniker."

ESPN sucks. With no evidence against Cam or Auburn, these guys almost ruined Cam Newton's season at Auburn because of what Dan Mullen & his father did at Mississippi State. ESPN has no credibility.

Posted by ElwayIsGod7 on 2012-04-25 10:40:11

Quick, someone send Leghold a link to the What A Payton Manning Offense Looks Like.

On second thought, no. Too much risk of plagurism.

Posted by A R on 2012-04-25 10:35:12

The passionate one really has the Broncos taking Fleener in the first round? Where, exactly, does he think Fleener fits in? Does he expect the Broncos to run a lot of three TE sets? I don't get it at all.